Spring appeal - How a regular gift from you can make a huge difference to our patients

When someone comes to stay at the hospice, they’re often nervous about what to expect. For some, they know they’ll be spending their last days with us but, for many more, they’re here so we can help manage their pain or control their symptoms before they return home.

As an occupational therapist here at Winchester Hospice, I see many of our patients who stay with us and my main goal when I’m caring for someone, along with the rest of the team, is to help them live well. I get to know them, what they like (and what they don’t!) and I work with each person to determine what living well means to them.

Winchester Hospice is full of surprises and one of the biggest is our award-winning garden. It was created by multi award-winning designer Sarah Eberle and donated to us after it appeared at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, scooping a prestigious gold medal. It’s often commented on by our patients and their visitors who share how peaceful and tranquil they find it and how they appreciate the opportunity to be able to go outside and soak up the beauty of nature while at the hospice.

Not all the care we offer at the hospice is medical. Sometimes the power of nature can be a real healer. Just getting out in the fresh air and feeling the sun upon your face really can do a lot to boost your mood and influence how you’re feeling in that moment.

Recently, a patient I was caring for was really struggling and I suggested he might like to spend some time in the garden as I thought it would really help him. Here’s what he shared with us about his time in nature.

“The garden was the real turning point for me. The hospice has a very beautiful garden with a cascading waterfall, trees, plants and birds and it had been suggested to me that I went out there. At first, I didn’t want to go. It felt a bit like an old man being shown the sky for one last time. I said that to Linda but she encouraged me to give it a try.

“I went outside and my bed was lowered so that it was like a sunbed. It was a really hot day and there was a beautiful breeze. The water reminded me of an infinity pool and the sound of the trees and the birds was so calming. It was exactly the same as when I would go on holiday! At that moment I realised that I didn’t’ need anything else to be added to me or taken away from me.”

That experience allowed him to relax and simply enjoy the moment of being immersed in his immediate surroundings and going outside became part of his daily routine while he was at the hospice and helped him cope with his changing circumstances.

Experiences like this for our patients have only been made possible thanks to the generous support of our local community. Back in 2021, you dug deep to ensure the hospice was built to serve local people. Now I’m writing to ask if you’ll continue to support us so that I, and everyone at the hospice, can continue to support those who need us.

• £10 a month over a year could pay for a clinical nurse specialist to spend two hours in a patients’ home to help with pain and symptom management.

• £16 a month over a year could pay for complimentary therapy sessions to help promote relaxation and reduce tension.

• £23 a month over a year could pay for an occupational therapist to provide specialist skills to enable patients to go home for end-of-life care.

• £50 a month over a year could pay for a psychologist to work with young families to enable children to adapt to their changing circumstance.

It costs the hospice £7,500 a day to care for local people. A gift of any amount can really make a huge difference to the support we’re able to offer our patients when they need us. Whatever you can give would be greatly appreciated by us all at Winchester Hospice.

To donate, simply click the button below to give what you can.

With thanks and best wishes,

Linda Snook, Occupational Therapist at Winchester Hospice